Reforms to boost trade; address biz climate issues: US to India

Bullish on expanding economic ties with India, the US today said bilateral trade has reached USD 109 billion and it will get a further boost from new reforms including GST even as it flagged persisting concerns American firms have on issues related to business climate in the fast-growing economy.

She said the Obama Administration in the past seven-and- a-half years has made significant progress toward realising the potential of what could be one of the largest commercial relationships in the world. (Reuters)

Bullish on expanding economic ties with India, the US today said bilateral trade has reached USD 109 billion and it will get a further boost from new reforms including GST even as it flagged persisting concerns American firms have on issues related to business climate in the fast-growing economy.

US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who will be on a 3-day India visit from tomorrow, also said that travel and tourism and sub-national engagement have been identified as two new areas of focus to drive commercial cooperation between the two countries in 2017, under which the focus would shift from India and the US to Chennai and Charleston.

She said the Obama Administration in the past seven-and- a-half years has made significant progress toward realising the potential of what could be one of the largest commercial relationships in the world.

“US and Indian companies are also investing in each other’s economies at record levels. In 2015, US investment in India reached more than USD 28 billion and Indian investment in the United States reached more than USD 11 billion. In fact, US affiliates of Indian-owned firms now employ more than 52,000 workers in the US,” Pritzker told PTI in an interview.

She exuded confidence that “India’s rapidly growing economy and the Modi government’s ambitious reform agenda, including the landmark Goods and Services Tax, passage of the recent national bankruptcy law, and liberalised foreign direct investment limits in key sectors, point toward a deeper economic relationship in the years ahead.”

Asserting that there is a tremendous potential for the US and India to achieve even more together, the Secretary said she is particularly excited over two new areas of focus that will drive their cooperation in the coming year — travel and tourism and subnational engagement.

She described increasing the number of travelers who move between the US and India as a significant commercial opportunity. More than 1 million people travel between the two countries each year.

“While that figure is strong, there is certainly potential for growth,” she added.

On sub-national engagement, Pritzker said: “Both US and Indian states play a vital role in driving economic growth and setting business climate policy. Companies choose to invest in Charleston, South Carolina or Chennai just as much as they select the US and India.”

Pritzker said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to host the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit will highlight India’s strong culture of innovation on the global stage and provide Indian entrepreneurs with an exceptional opportunity to meet with top investors and network with their international peers.

Pritzker, who has been the US Secretary of Commerce for over three years and is a key member of President Barack Obama’s economic team, will be travelling to India for the second US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue and the US-India CEO Forum.

During the visit, she will meet Indian entrepreneurs and participate in an event celebrating US-India cooperation on travel and tourism. India and the US have decided to be Travel and Tourism Partner Countries in 2017.

On whether the Modi government has delivered on its target of improving ease of doing business score and the feedback from the US companies operating in India, she said: “We welcome Prime Minister Modi’s ambitious efforts to improve India’s business climate and enable greater trade and investment. The recent passage of the Goods and Services Tax, for example, is a truly historic accomplishment with potentially far-reaching benefits for the Indian economy and our expanding bilateral trade and investment partnership with India.”

She added: “However, the GST is just one in a series of steps the Indian government has taken to improve the ease of doing business in India. Since taking office in 2014, the Modi government has passed the national bankruptcy law, raised foreign direct investment caps in sectors including defense and insurance, established commercial courts, and ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

“On infrastructure, the Modi government has established Special Purpose Vehicles for smart cities, promoted municipal bonds for urban development, and launched a National Infrastructure Investment Fund. We applaud these reforms and urge the Government of India to prioritise their full implementation.”

She further said that while the US companies have responded positively to these efforts, they also continue to raise concerns about persistent business climate issues that impede greater trade and investment between our two countries.

Pritzker said: “These include unclear tax policies, burdensome regulations, inadequate protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and onerous localization requirements. Companies seek a more transparent and predictable policy environment, including consistent notice and comment procedures in the rule-making process, in order to plan investments and inform long-term business decisions.

“Industry also sees promising opportunities to facilitate trade further through streamlining complex and cumbersome customs processing procedures, implementing a single-window approach to government licensing, and increasing predictability and efficiency in government approvals and inspections related to cross-border trade.”